Abstract Smart thermal management systems can positively impact the performance, fuel economy, and reliability of internal combustion engines. Advanced cooling systems typically feature multiple computer controlled actuators - a three way smart valve, a variable speed pump, and a variable speed electric radiator fan(s). To investigate the contributions of these electro-mechanical devices, a scale multifunction test bench was constructed which integrated these actuators, accompanying system sensors, and a controllable engine thermal load with real time data acquisition and control hardware/software. This paper presents a series of experimental studies that focus on the engine's thermal transient response to various actuators input control combinations. The test results established a basis for several key operating conclusions.

Abstract We developed a thermal calculation 1D simulator for an electric valve timing control system (VTC). A VTC can optimize the open and close timing of the intake and exhaust valves depending on the driving situation. Since a conventional VTC is driven hydraulically, the challenges are response speed and operation limit at low temperature. Our company has been developing an electric VTC for quick response and expansion of operating conditions. Currently, it is necessary to optimize the motor and reduction gear design to balance quicker response with downsizing. Therefore, a coupled simulator that can calculate electricity, mechanics, control, and thermo characteristics is required. In 1D simulation, a thermal network method is commonly used for thermal calculation. However, an electric VTC is attached to the end of a camshaft; therefore, determining thermal resistances is difficult.

Abstract As engine efficiency targets continue to rise, additional improvements must consider reduction of heat transfer losses. The development of advanced heat transfer models and realistic boundary conditions for simulation based engine design both require accurate in-cylinder wall temperature measurements. A novel dual wavelength infrared diagnostic has been developed to measure in-cylinder surface temperatures with high temporal resolution. The diagnostic has the capability to measure low amplitude, high frequency temperature variations, such as those occurring during the gas exchange process. The dual wavelength ratio method has the benefit of correcting for background scattering reflections and the emission from the optical window itself. The assumption that background effects are relatively constant during an engine cycle is shown to be valid over a range of intake conditions during motoring.

Abstract Car engine piston cooling is an important technology for improving the compression ratio and suppressing the deformation of pistons. It is well known that thermal conductivity improves dramatically through the use of heat pipes in computers and air conditioners. However, the heat pipes in general use have not been used for the cooling of engines because the flow of gas and liquid is disturbed by vibration and the thermal conductivity becomes excessively low. We therefore developed an original heat pipe and conducted an experiment to determine its heat transfer coefficient using a high-speed reciprocation testing apparatus. Although the test was based on a single heat pipe unit, we succeeded in improving the heat transfer coefficient during high-speed reciprocation by a factor of 1.6 compared to the heat transfer coefficient at standstill. This report describes the observed characteristics and the method of verification.

Abstract In our preceding report [1], we showed that the thermal conductivity of a heat pipe dramatically improves during high-speed reciprocation. However, this cooling method has rarely been applied to car engine pistons because the thermal conductivity of commercially available heat pipes does not increase easily even if the pipe is subjected to high-speed reciprocation. In consideration of the data from our preceding report, we decided to investigate heat pipe designs for car engine pistons, propose an optimum design, and conduct thermal analysis of the design. As a result, we found that it is possible to transport heat from the central piston head area, where cooling is most needed, to the piston skirt area, suggesting the possibility of efficient cooling.

Abstract The drive to reduce CO2 and fuel consumption from passenger cars requires improvements from various subsystems. In particular, the ever growing importance of effective and efficient thermal management will no doubt benefit the quest for more efficient vehicle. While many established automakers have decided to increase the sophistications of the engine cooling circuits through electronics, the increase in complexity and costs are still not desirable especially for A and B passenger car segments. With this in mind, simple mechanical based cooling systems with enhanced functionalities are in high demand. To meet such demand, a simplified engine split cooling circuit previously proposed, simulated and reported seems to be promising. To further verify the indicated advantages, a prototype unit was built and physically tested using a dynamometer with motoring capability.

Abstract Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) can be used for a variety of applications in automobiles. There is a lot of interest in using them for waste heat recovery from a fuel economy point of view. This paper examines the potential of TEGs to provide cost-effective improvements in the fuel economy of conventional vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). Simulation analysis is used to quantify fuel economy benefits. The paper explains how a TEG is used in a vehicle and explores the idea of improving the TEG design by introducing a thermal reservoir in the TEG model to improve the waste heat recovery. An effort is made to identify the technological and economic barriers (and their thresholds) that could prevent TEGs from becoming an acceptable means of waste heat recovery in automobiles.

Abstract This paper presents an experimental analysis on the effect of thermal insulation of engine internal walls on the performance and emissions of a heavy-duty diesel engine. Some parts of the engine, like pistons, cylinder head and exhaust manifold were thermally insulated from gas contact side in order to reduce heat losses through the walls. Each component has been analyzed, independently, and in combination with others. The results have been compared with that of the original engine configuration. The analysis focuses on NOx and, smoke emissions along with brake specific fuel consumption. In order to take advantage of the engine insulation, an optimization of the air management and injection settings was finally performed, which provided the best combination for each engine configuration.

Abstract As one of the most complicated parts of an internal combustion Engine, cylinder head is directly exposed to high combustion pressures and temperatures. Cooling must be provided for the heated surfaces to avoid overheating. However over-cooling will cause lower overall efficiency and high emission. Therefore, an optimal design of the cooling system is required to maintain trouble-free operation of engine. For single cylinder naturally aspirated Compression Ignition (CI) engines, on account of space restrictions, designing of cooling jacket is very critical. Engineers invest a large amount of time and serious effort to optimize the flow through engine cooling jacket with limited detailed information of conducting flow and heat transfer. This paper therefore, investigates cooling performance of a single cylinder 510cc production diesel engine.

Abstract The lightweight seat of a high performance car is designed taking into account a rear impact, i.e. the crash due to an impulse applied from the rear. The basic parameters of the seat structure are derived resorting to simulations of a crash with a test dummy positioned on the seat. The simulations provide the forces acting at the seat structure, in particular the forces applied at the joint between the seat cushion and the seat backrest are taken into account. Such a joint is simulated as a plastic hinge and dissipates some of the crash energy. The simulations are validated by means of indoor tests with satisfactory results. A tool has been developed for the preliminary design of lightweight seats for high performance cars.

Abstract The human thermal comfort, which has been a subject of extensive research, is a principal objective of the automotive climate control system. Applying the results of research studies to the practical problems require quantitative information of the thermal environment in the passenger compartment of a vehicle. The exposure to solar radiation is known to alter the thermal environment in the passenger compartment. A photovoltaic-cell based sensor is commonly used in the automotive climate control system to measure the solar radiation exposure of the passenger compartment of a vehicle. The erroneous information from a sensor however can cause thermal discomfort to the occupants. The erroneous measurement can be due to physical or environmental parameters. Shading of a solar sensor due to the opaque vehicle body elements is one such environmental parameter that is known to give incorrect measurement.

Abstract In last 10 years or so, a number of OEMs are designing vehicles with start-stop function to save energy and to reduce pollution. For these systems, the situations in which air-conditioning systems are used have been changing with a significant increase in adoption of idle-time reduction systems (no idling-system). Blower fan remains operating at idle condition while compressor stops in most cases for these systems. In this case, the air temperature at the vent outlets increases. The increase in the air temperature under range of thermal boundary conditions around the evaporator causes a concern of odor to occur. This paper describes and explains experimental studies on changes in heat and humidity at the air outlets according to the switching operation of compressor and root cause analyses of odor coming from air-conditioning system for vehicles with start-stop function.

Abstract A sports car exhibits many challenges from an aerodynamic point of view: drag that limits top speed, lift - or down force - and balance that affects handling, brake cooling and insuring that the heat exchangers have enough air flowing through them under several vehicle speeds and ambient conditions. All of which must be balanced with a sports car styling and esthetic. Since this sports car applies two electric motors to drive front axle and a high-rev V6 turbo charged engine in series with a 9-speed double-clutch transmission and one electric motor to drive rear axle, additional cooling was required, yielding a total of ten air cooled-heat exchangers. It is also a challenge to introduce cooling air into the rear engine room to protect the car under severe thermal conditions. This paper focuses on the cooling and heat resistance concept.

The underhood hot air recirculation greatly impacts A/C system performance at idle and low vehicle speed conditions. The hot air recirculation can raise condenser inlet air temperature in some cases as much as 18°C above ambient, which lowers condenser cooling capacity and increases compressor work. Underhood airflow research in the following study suggests that a properly designed air duct is able to minimize hot air recirculation and improve the Compressors Coefficient of Performance (COP) at idle by 27%. This paper discusses underhood hot air recirculation testing methods, airflow distribution, air duct design concepts, as well as the cross wind and wind tunnel effects. This dedicated air duct design indicates it should improve A/C emissions, which could contribute to meeting the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Green House Gas Emissions Regulations in North America.

Abstract Electric drive vehicles (EDVs) have complex thermal management requirements not present in conventional vehicles. In addition to cabin conditioning, the energy storage system (ESS) and power electronics and electric motor (PEEM) subsystems also require thermal management. Many current-generation EDVs utilize separate cooling systems, adding both weight and volume, and lack abundant waste heat from an engine for cabin heating. Some use battery energy to heat the cabin via electrical resistance heating, which can result in vehicle range reductions of 50% under cold ambient conditions. These thermal challenges present an opportunity for integrated vehicle thermal management technologies that reduce weight and volume and increase cabin heating efficiency. Bench testing was conducted to evaluate a combined fluid loop technology that unifies the cabin air-conditioning and heating, ESS thermal management, and PEEM cooling into a single liquid coolant-based system.

Abstract Lithium-ion cells are being used in an increasing number of electric and hybrid vehicles. Both of these vehicle types contain many cells. Despite various safety measures, however, there are still reports of accidents involving abnormal heat, smoke, and fire caused by thermal runaway in the cells. If thermal runaway in one cell triggers that of another and thus causes thermal runaway propagation, this can lead to rupture of the battery pack, car fire, or other serious accidents. This study is aimed to ensure the safety of vehicles with lithium-ion cells by clarifying such accident risks, and so we investigated the process of thermal runaway propagation. In the experiment, we created a battery module made of seven laminate-type cells tightly stacked one on another. Then, we induced thermal runaway in one of the cells, measured the surface temperatures of the cells, and collected video data as the process developed. As a result, all of the seven cells underwent thermal runaway.

Abstract Recent progress in computer-aided engineering (CAE) has made it possible to model complex interdisciplinary multiphysics analyses. This paper investigated the sequential coupled thermal-structural analysis by examining the associated thermal stresses under simulated operational conditions close to the real situation. An evaluation of exhaust muffler strain due to thermal stresses was made by coupling Star-CCM+ CFD software and ABAQUS FEM structural analysis software. The study was made to evaluate discovered muffler durability test failure and to develop a countermeasure design. Failure of the muffler internal pipe was discovered after heat cycle durability testing. The internal pipe had broken into two pieces. In the first step, CFD analysis was done by thermo-flow simulation to determine the resulting heat distribution on the muffler assembly when subjected to the prescribed peak duty cycle temperature.

Abstract We have developed Li-ion battery heating system which is direct resistance heating for hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) and electric vehicles (EV) by use of an inverter and a motor. One relay is added between a positive terminal of Li-ion battery and one-phase (e.g. U-phase) of a three-phase motor. When additional relay is turned on, the motor coils, IGBTs (Insulated-gate bipolar transistor) and diodes in the inverter and a smoothing capacitor for the inverter constitute buck-boost DC to DC converter. IGBTs are controlled to repeat charging and discharging between the battery and the smoothing capacitor. We made a system prototype and examined battery heating capability. And also we optimized charging and discharging frequency from impedance and current to improve heat generation. This method can increase battery temperature from −20 degrees C to 0 degrees C in 5 minutes and can extend EV driving range.

Abstract The present paper reports on a study of the HVAC energy usage for an EREV (extended range electric vehicle) implementation of a localized cooling/heating system. Components in the localized system use thermoelectric (TE) devices to target the occupant's chest, face, lap and foot areas. A novel contact TE seat was integrated into the system. Human subject comfort rides and a thermal manikin in the tunnel were used to establish equivalent comfort for the baseline and localized system. The tunnel test results indicate that, with the localized system, HVAC energy savings of 37% are achieved for cooling conditions (ambient conditions greater than 10 °C) and 38% for heating conditions (ambient conditions less than 10 °C), respectively based on an annualized ambient and vehicle occupancy weighted method. The driving range extension for an electric vehicle was also estimated based on the HVAC energy saving.

Abstract Seat vibration when a vehicle is idling or in motion is an issue in automobile development. In order to reduce this vibration, dynamic damper or inertia mass is widely used. These countermeasures increases vehicle's weight and causes bad fuel-efficiency. Some new ways to reduce the vibration without weight increase are needed. One of that is the floating seat. Seat vibration has been reduced by controlling seat resonance frequencies. In order to control resonance frequency, the structures of the seat-mounting unit are replaced with floating structures using rubber bushings. It was demonstrated that partially replacing the mounting unit with floating structures makes it possible to control the resonance frequencies of the entire seat. The issue of balancing vibration reduction with strength and durability and crash safety performance caused by the fitting of rubber bushings to the seat-mounting unit was addressed using stopper structures optimized for each type of input.

Abstract Driving posture measurement is essential for the evaluation of a driver workspace and for improved seat comfort design. This study captures the comfortable driving postures for Koreans using a handheld portable Artec L™ 3D scanner. Subjects consisted of 20 healthy individuals (10 males and 10 females) ranging in age from 20 to 40 years and grouped as three weight groups (<59 kg, 60-79 kg and >80 kg). Eighteen land markers were attached (car seat: 9 markers; subject: 9 markers). From the 3D scanned data, the angles (neck, back, headrest, seat back, wrist, elbow, knee, and ankle) and distances (head to headrest, seat height, and seat back and forth) between the land markers were extracted in the Rapidform XOR software. The body pressure distribution was measured using two pressure mats from 17 body part regions. The measured pressure data were analyzed for average pressure, contact area, and body part pressure ratio.

Abstract In summer, when vehicle parks in direct sunlight, the closed cabin temperature would rise sharply, which affects the occupants step-in-car comfort Solar powered vehicle parking ventilation system adopts the solar energy to drive the original ventilator. Thus, the cabin temperature could be dramatically decreased and the riding comfort could be also improved. This research analyzed the modified crew cabin thermal transfer model. Then the performance of the solar powered ventilation system is analyzed and optimized combined with the power supply characteristics of the photovoltaic element. The storage and reuse of the solar power is achieved on condition that the cabin temperature could be steadily controlled. The research shows that, the internal temperature is mainly affected by the solar radiation intensity and the environment temperature.

Abstract A passive thermal management system (TMS) using composite phase change material (PCM) for large-capacity, rectangular lithium-ion batteries is designed. A battery module consisting of six Li-ion cells connected in series was investigated as a basic unit. The passive TMS for the module has three configurations according to the contact area between cells and the composite PCM, i.e., surrounding, front-contacted and side-contacted schemes. Firstly, heat generation rate of the battery cell was calculated using the Bernardi equation based on experimentally measured heat source terms (i.e. the internal resistance and the entropy coefficient). Physical and thermal properties such as density, phase change temperature, latent heat and thermal conductivity of the composite PCM were also obtained by experimental methods. Thereafter, thermal response of the battery modules with the three TMS configurations was simulated using 3D finite element analysis (FEA) modeling in ANSYS Fluent.

Abstract As an appropriate material for automotive thermoelectric generators, which directly convert waste heat of exhaust gas into electricity, we have developed Mg2(Si1-xSnx) thermoelectric materials with high thermoelectric performance. The performance is evaluated with the dimensionless figure of merit (ZT), and the ZT has been improved through the development of the fabrication process and the investigation of the optimum composition and dopant element. A novel liquid-solid reaction synthesis method incorporating hotpressing for the sample fabrication was effective in reducing the thermal conductivity. The n-type Mg2(Si0.50Sn0.50) doped with Sb attained a high ZT of 1.1 at 620 K. The p-type Mg2(Si0.25Sn0.75) doped with Li and Ag simultaneously achieved a ZT of 0.3 at 600 K. The effective maximum power of n-type thermoelectric element and that of p-type were calculated with the thermoelectromotive force and the mean resistivity.

Abstract New directives and increasing competition push OEMs to get better performances (engine power increase), along with mass and size reduction (consumption). These evolutions lead to an increase of the thermal solicitations undergo by the clutches whereas their weight must be decreased, as it is one of the main influent factor on CO2 emissions. As the compactness is even more reduced for a Double Dry Clutch (DDC), this issue is critical. In order to improve the thermal behavior of the DDC, a CFD study has been performed. The present paper will introduce the first results obtained with a validated CFD model. The computations are performed on a DDC where the air flow around the rotating parts, along with the convection and the conduction of all solid parts are modeled. Then four different cases are used to evaluate the impact of holes on the air flow path and on the thermal behavior of the different parts of the system.

Abstract Exhaust heat recovery units that use a thermoelectric element generate electricity by creating a temperature difference in the thermoelectric element by heating one side and cooling the other side of the thermoelectric circuit (module). In this case, the general structure does not directly join the thermoelectric module with the heat sink, and instead presses the thermoelectric module against the heat sink using bolts or other means in order to prevent thermoelectric element damage due to the difference in linear expansion between the cooled and heated sides of the thermoelectric module. However, this poses the issues associated with a complex, heavy and expensive structure. Therefore, a new vacuum space structure was devised that houses the thermoelectric module in a vacuum chamber and presses the module against the heat sink using atmospheric pressure.

Abstract In this work, heat loss was investigated in homogeneous and stratified DI-SI operation mode in a single cylinder research engine. Several thermocouples were adapted to the combustion chamber surfaces. The crank angle resolved temperature oscillations at the cylinder head and piston surface could thereby be measured in homogeneous and stratified operation mode. A grasshopper linkage was designed and adapted to the engine, to transfer the piston signals to the data acquisition device. The design of the experimental apparatus is described briefly. For both operation modes the average steady-state temperatures of the combustion chamber surfaces were compared. The temperature distribution along the individual sensor positions at the cylinder head and piston surface are shown. Furthermore, the curves of the crank angle resolved temperature oscillations in stratified and homogeneous operation mode were compared.

Abstract The hydraulic retarder is the most stabilized auxiliary braking system [1-2] of heavy-duty vehicles. When the hydraulic retarder is working during auxiliary braking, all of the braking energy is transferred into the thermal energy of the transmission medium of the working wheel. Theoretically, the residual heat-sinking capability of the engine could be used to cool down the transmission medium of the hydraulic retarder, in order to ensure the proper functioning of the hydraulic retarder. Never the less, the hydraulic retarder is always placed at the tailing head of the gearbox, far from the engine, long cooling circuits, which increases the risky leakage risk of the transmission medium. What's more, the development trend of heavy load and high speed vehicle directs the significant increase in the thermal load of the hydraulic retarder, which even higher than the engine power.

Abstract The goal of this research was to improve thermal efficiency under conditions of stoichiometric air-fuel ratio and 91 RON (Research Octane Number) gasoline fuel. Increasing compression ratio and dilution are effective means to increase the thermal efficiency of gasoline engines. Increased compression ratio is associated with issues such as slow combustion, increased cooling loss, and engine knocking. Against these challenges, a higher stroke-bore ratio (S/B ratio) and a lower effective compression ratio were tried as countermeasures. With respect to increased dilution, combustion of a high-EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) was tried. High-energy ignition and optimized combustion chamber shape with high tumble port were tried as countermeasures against slow combustion and reduced ignitability due to a higher EGR rate.